Growout of pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, stocked into production ponds at three different ages

This study was designed to determine the production characteristics of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, stocked into grow-out ponds at three different sizes and ages. To meet this goal, three groups of postlarvae (PL) were obtained. The first group was placed in a nursery system for 21 d (N21), the second for 14 d (N14), and the third was stocked directly into ponds (DS). Shrimp from each nursery treatment (three tanks per treatment) were pooled and then subdivided for stocking into four replicate 0.1 ha ponds per treatment, another four ponds were stocked directly (DS) with PL8. All 12 ponds were stocked on the same day at a density of approximately 35 PL/m(2), and cultured over a 16-wk period and then drain harvested. After harvest, mean average weights (15.4, 16.9, and 14.9 g), survivals (63, 62, and 64%), FCRs (2.7, 2.5, and 2.7), and average yields (3592, 4005, and 3374 kg/ha) were determined for N21, N14, and DS, respectively. No significant (P > 0.05) differences were observed among treatments. Regardless of nursing time, nursed juveniles did not differ significantly in production characteristics from shrimp stocked directly from the hatchery.